


Calm Before the Storm

by SadunaCC



Category: Death Stranding (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Mentions of Death, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Post-Canon, Spoilers, as of right now at least, depends how busy i get in the coming months, not sure if this'll become an ongoing series or not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:15:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21962710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SadunaCC/pseuds/SadunaCC
Summary: He traced his fingers over the bullet holes and sniffed the air.Oh, that was most certainly dried blood.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	Calm Before the Storm

“How much farther is the Distribution Center?”

“About another 30 minutes if we hurry.”

Higgs groaned in aggravation. He and Sam had been carrying this order’s cargo for almost five hours without a rest and his legs were killing him. Sam however, had hardly broken a sweat. “Didn’t you used to be a porter before becoming a terrorist? Thought you’d be used to this.” He asked.

“The last time I was a porter was over 4 years ago,” Higgs scoffed. God he hated that he wasn’t able to jump through the beaches anymore. Ever since Amelie had cut her beach off from everyone things had gone haywire for people with higher levels of DOOMS. All contact with The Beach, save for a few, was immediately cut off en masse. Higgs was one of the lucky few who kept their DOOMS abilities at all.

Their walk continued in silence for another few minutes before Sam suddenly halted.

“Is… is that a bunker?” his eyes narrowed at what appeared to be the shape of the entrance to a prepper’s home nestled amongst an outcropping of rocks in the distance. Higgs paused beside him and bent over to catch his breath.

“Sure looks like one.”

“This area isn’t on the network. We should see if anyone’s home.”

“You gotta be kiddin’ me, we’re so close to the distro center! We can bother the sorry sack of shit later.” Higgs huffed as a frown crossed his face.

“We won’t be heading back this way for a while, and besides, it’s not that far off our route. It shouldn’t take too long.” despite his tone staying level, Sam couldn’t deny the wary feeling crawling up his spine. Something didn’t feel right. Why hadn't this person made contact with the UCA if they weren’t connected after over a whole year of the Chiral Network’s completion?

“Fine, but the moment we’re done here I’m leavin’ for the center with or without you Sammy.”

The bunker’s walls were fairly unkempt upon inspection. Layers of dirt and plant matter clung to the sides and the roof. Sam expected to at least hear the familiar greeting of the senor poles, but neither they nor the terminal were active. It was then he spotted the slightly ajar metal door.

“Door’s open. Maybe we should take a look inside.” Sam’s brow furrowed and the uneasy feeling only grew.

“This place is obviously abandoned. Let’s just go.”

“Aren’t you the one who wanted a break so bad? Just unload the cargo next to the door and we’ll grab it on our way out.” Sam began to unload his own batch of cargo, a few containers of smart drugs. While it wasn’t much, two bulky backpacks in the tight space of the shelter wasn’t something he would look forward to dealing with. Higgs shrugged followed suit with a huff as the brunet went to the metal door and push on it. It creaked open and Sam was met with darkness. Two Odradeks lit up the stairway, one orange and one white, as the two men began to descend.

It was like a thick blanket, the air. An old musty smell and dust particles everywhere. However, that was the least of their concerns when they came upon the main room of the bunker.

“What the hell…?” Sam muttered as his gaze travelled around the room. There were papers everywhere. A few chairs were overturned on their side and what appeared to be the remains of an old wooden desk was sitting in the far corner. The bed sitting against the wall had pillow stuffing strewn about like a dog had used it for a toy. It was completely dark aside from the lights they cast.

“Ugh, this place reeks.” Higgs put a hand to his face to cover his mouth and nose. Sam raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at his companion.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Can’t you smell it? Whoever was here had a party with the BTs, everything smells like it’s soaked in tar.”

“Right, forgot you can do that.” With that the porter went to look further into the shelter. “Try seeing if you can find any info on who lived here, I’m going to check out the doors over here.”

There were two doors on the far side of the room. The first one Sam checked led to a large, empty closet. The most Sam could find was some empty boxes and remnants of rotting food. He turned to enter the other door.

Meanwhile, Higgs was on the floor shifting through some of the documents that were strewn about when something on the wall caught his eye. Bullet holes. Five of them to be precise. The orange light of his Odradek revealed that near the holes were splatters of some kind of dark liquid. Higgs got up and went to inspect the wall. He traced his fingers over the bullet holes and sniffed the air.

Oh, that was most certainly dried blood.

A swivel of his head and the ex-terrorist saw a third doorway, though the door itself seemed to be missing. More splatters of dried blood were on the dusty floor leading into the room. Higgs crept over to the doorway. With all his senses alert, he poked his head in through to take a look inside.

“Sammy boy, you aren’t going to like this!”

Sam had just been in the second room, which turned out to be a small library, when Higgs had called. He set down the book he’d been looking at and walked out to find the ex-terrorist.

“What am I not going to like?” he was standing behind Higgs, who was currently blocking his view into the third room. Said person stepped through the doorway and kneeled down beside something dark on the ground. “Oh shit-”

The third room was an old bathroom that was caked in dried blood and bullet holes. There wasn’t a body, but the evidence was enough to convince Sam that whoever was in the bunker must have been shot up in the bathroom.

“Separatists?”

“Looks like it, unless our local MULE friends decided it’d be fun to come in and kill whoever lived in this dump.”

“Take a look at this.”

Higgs snapped his attention upwards to where the brunet was pointing. On the wall was what looked like a logo painted on using the blood. It was similar to the one Higgs had worn on his own clothing over a year ago, although it lacked the egyptian headdress.

“Think it was any of the guys you worked with?” Sam glanced over to Higgs. He knew that the ex-terrorist didn’t have the ability to contact any of the Homo Demens still left, but he wouldn’t deny that it still lingered in his mind as a possibility that Higgs could try to go back.

“If it is, then those fuckers are even dumber than they used to be to think they could fight the UCA as it is right now. They can’t do anythin’ to control the BTs without me or the EE on their side, and the entire country is swarming with your pals over at Bridges.”

“Technically our pals at Bridges.”

Higgs fell silent.

“...Right.” He still wasn’t used to it, the idea of being apart of the UCA. Then again, he’d only just joined, albeit unwilling at first, a little over a month prior. “Anyhoo, let’s get out of this dump and to the center. It’s going to rain soon and I’d rather avoid dealing with BTs at this hour.” He clapped a hand onto Sam’s shoulder before stepping back into the main part of the bunker.

“We need to report this to Die-Hardman you know.”

“All the more reason to haul ass!”

The two of them stepped out into the evening sun’s warm rays and regathered their cargo. Sam checked his straps one more time before beginning to walk back to the set path with Higgs trailing behind him.

Higgs’ pale blue eyes flicked to look back at the darkened entrance to the shelter. A heavy weight sat in his gut as his brow creased. He’d never admit it, but all he felt coming out of the building was a gnawing pit of dread.

If his Homo Demens really hadn’t disbanded after his disappearance…

If they were still out there…

“You going to stand there all night?” Higgs snapped his attention to Sam. When had he stopped walking? “Come on, I promised Deadman he wouldn’t have to watch Lou after today.”

With that they continued on their way to the familiar shape of the Distribution Center in the distance.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for Death Stranding. I'm hoping to maybe turn it into a small series of fics strung together, but my schedule may get in the way for the upcoming months. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


End file.
